


Under the Stars

by OrmondSacker



Series: Fulcra [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Platonic bed sharing, Sharing a Bed, and why isn't that a tag, well sort of platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 11:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6703426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrmondSacker/pseuds/OrmondSacker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When on an undercover mission to smuggle weapons to a group of rebels in First Order territory Finn and Poe find their cover broken. To escape they have to crash land on a planet and trek cross country on foot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Stars

“Can you crash us?”

Finn's words were almost drowned out by the sound of another barrage of laser bolts hitting their aft shields. He wondered how much more the ageing freighter could take before blowing up.

“I'm trying very hard not to right now, but I assume you have an idea.”

The grin in Poe's voice was unmistakable despite their precarious situation, even escaping the _Finalizer_ hadn't been quite this hairy. Ten TIEs against one unarmed ship with rapidly fading shields were impossible odds even for Poe Dameron. Not that he wouldn't give it all he had, but unless they either surrendered or found another solution soon, they were both dead. Luckily, Finn had one.

“We obviously can't go up, they're flying too many intercepting patterns at once. So down is our only option.”

“How convincing do you need it to look?”

“Enough that the ship will blow up and burn out, hopefully convincing them we're dead despite the lack of actual bodies.”

Poe barely managed to dodge another round of incoming fire and Finn felt his heart skip a beat as the laser bolts flew past the front view port with centimetres to spare.

“Anywhere in particular, or can I pick?” Poe grinned.

“Inside the forest up ahead, near the mountain range if you can manage.”

The ore rich mountains were wreaking havoc with their ship's sensors and Finn was hoping that, even though the First Order's equipment was light years better than what they had on board the old freighter, it would disturb theirs too.

“Buckle up,” Poe laughed. “This is going to get fun.”

Fun was not the first thing Finn would have called it, as Poe put the ship into a sharp incline as if trying to make a mad dash for space. Though if he had had something to do beyond holding on to the armrests of the passenger's chair, he might have agreed more readily, but the ship they were in had only one pilot seat and no weapons. After all they were supposed to be honest spice traders coming to Parmai to make a legal deal.

Of course, that was only the first layer of their cover. The one beneath had them as somewhat less than honest spice traders, looking for a shifty deal, possibly with the Hutts, and the one under that had them as arms smugglers – which would go a long way to explain the detonite they carried in the cargo bay. And beneath all of that was the truth, that the ancient Mon Cal freighter Black Wave had on board two of the most highly wanted fighters the Resistance had.

Obviously given the number of TIEs currently chasing them, the First Order had broken through at least one layer of their cover stories. Finn only hoped they hadn't dug all the way to the bottom.

The ship was hit by another barrage of laser fire which set off the engine’s over-taxation warning alarm.

“Finn, I need you to cut the shields on my mark.”

Finn reached out and put his hand on the control, his heart hammering in his chest. Poe made a sharp right that not even the inertial dampeners could soften.

“Now!”

Finn yanked down the handle and a split second later he felt them get hit. More alarms than he even knew the ship had screeched at a deafening pitch and suddenly the ship's forward momentum was gone. Gravity took hold, hurtling them towards the ground.

“I'm going to have to cut this close if it's to look convincing, so I suggest you hold on to whatever you can.”

If Poe was doing anything to break their fall Finn couldn't feel it, instead it seemed like they were in free fall towards the forest below, the huge trees coming closer at an alarming speed.

His mouth was dry and part of him wanted to close his eyes, but he made a decision not that long ago that when the end came he would meet it with open eyes, so he didn't.

A few hundred metres above the tree crowns Poe cut the engines back in to break their fall and Finn was pressed violently back against his seat. It lasted for about two seconds, then they crashed through the crowns and impacted hard on the ground.

The alarms cut off at impact as abruptly as they had begun, leaving the cockpit eerily silent apart from the crack and snap of broken, overheated electronics. Finn looked to see Poe pull out a hand from beneath the dash, holding two wires he had clearly yanked free.

“Thought it was best if the ship appeared to be dead,” he grinned and Finn couldn't help grinning back. His adrenalin was starting to kick in for real and it left him feeling a little bit high.

“Good thinking. Can you put a leak in the fuel near the cargo hold too?”

“Sure.”

Poe leaned in for a quick kiss before getting out of his chair, heading toward the cargo hold.

Finn followed, but ducked into his room on the way and pulled the two shoulder bags that held his emergency survival bundles out of the closet.

They each held a full water bottle, rations for five days – seven if stretched – a thin thermal blanket, and a few odds and ends that might be useful if stranded. He had put them together when he and Poe accepted the covert mission to smuggle weapons to a small group of rebels operating in First Order territory. If things went wrong he wasn't going to land them in the same situation they both had been in on Jakku if he could help it.

When he got to the cargo hold, Poe had already broken open part of the bulkhead and had his torso buried in the inner workings of the ship.

Finn dropped the bags beside him and went to the detonite crates, breaking one open.

He could feel his palms getting sweaty. Crashing inside the heavy forest meant that the First Order couldn't just land beside them without doing heavy damage to their own ships. Instead they'd have to either land outside or find a clearing and then hike or use speeder bikes to get to the crash site. That bought him and Poe some time to set things up. Not much, given First Order efficiency, but hopefully it would be enough.

“Right,” Poe said behind him. “Got part of the fuel line. When I cut it, we'll have highly flammable liquid all over the deck.”

“Okay, thanks. Take the bags and get out the front hatch,” Finn answered as he took out two packs of explosives.

His words were met with complete silence and when he turned Poe had a clear 'if you think I'm leaving you here, think again buddy' look on his face.

“Poe, once I set this up I won't have much time to get out and I don't want to have to worry about you as well. Blowing myself up is _not_ part of the plan, we're both getting out of here.”

“If you're not out in two minutes I'm coming in to get you.”

“Make that four. Detonite is tricky stuff and I'd rather not make mistakes.”

Standing, Poe grabbed the two bags and slung them over his shoulder and leaned over to kiss Finn again.

“You had better make it out, cariño,” he said before he turned and left.

Finn unpacked the explosives and used bonding tape to attach them to the bulk head near the door to the corridor leading to the cockpit. He needed the fire and devastation to take out as much of that and the living quarters as he could if the First Order was to buy the ruse, and blowing this part of the bulk head should hypothetically create a fire corridor in that direction.

He broke open two more crates of detonite and overturned them, spilling the contents all over the deck, before grabbing the multi tool Poe had been using and carefully bared a live wire. Once done, he cut the fuel line.

Now came the tricky part.

His nostrils filled with the acrid scent of star ship's fuel as he continued his work.

He pulled the bare wire to the detonite planted on the bulk head and started slowly counting in his head.

_One bantha, two bantha, three bantha._

There needed to be enough fuel fumes in the hold that they would ignite when he crossed the wires to create sparks, but not so much that it created an inferno right away. Apart from killing him – which _really_ wasn't part of the plan – the detonite wouldn't blow up and the ruse wouldn't look convincing. But if there wasn't enough then nothing would happen and he might not have a second try at this.

_Ten bantha, eleven bantha._

He wondered what Rey would have done had she been there, she was good with ships and fixing things. He missed her and not just for her technical know how.

_Nineteen batha, twenty bantha._

He crossed the wires in his hand, tossed them into the cargo hold and bolted for the exit hatch.

The whoosh behind him told him that there had definitely been enough fumes.

He all but tumbled out of the hatch and stumbled onto the forest floor, twigs snapping beneath his feet.

Luckily the pilot took the hint and bolted into the forest ahead of Finn.

Poe was standing only a few meters away – _moon jockey, he'd told him to get away_ – and Finn waved frantically for him to move.

The thick undergrowth made it difficult to move fast and they hadn't got more than maybe thirty metres way when Finn heard the first muffled explosion.

“Get down!”

They dropped down on the ground, covering their heads best they could, and four seconds later the freighter behind them was ripped apart by the detonite before becoming an inferno.

“I hope that doesn't start a forest fire,” Poe said looking back at the burning hulk.

“Too wet,” Finn observed drily, his trousers already soaked by the damp forest floor.

Well, it beat being dead or captured, so he'd take it.

“We'd better get going,” he continued as he helped Poe to his feet. “No knowing how fast the First Order will get here.”

“Mountains?”

Finn nodded and took the shoulder bag Poe held out towards him.

“I told you to get away from the ship,” Finn said as they walked as fast as the undergrowth would let them in the general direction of the nearby mountain range.

“You also said you'd be four minutes, it had been more than five. I was worried.”

Finn looked at him and could see the small frown that had formed between the pilot's brows and a blush crept up his neck. Having no idea how to respond he changed the subject.

“We'd better look for a hiding place too.”

Poe just nodded.

 

They reached the craggy foothills without incident, but as they stood trying to decide whether to ford the river just ahead or risk continuing on the side they were on, they heard the sound of several impulse engines overhead.

Though it was autumn on this part of Parmai, most trees still had most of their leaves, so it was impossible to see much of the sky from where they stood.

“TIE bombers,” Poe stated.

Finn didn't even bother to ask if he was sure.

“We really need a place to hide. If we're out in the open they'll find us.”

Poe looked at him questioningly.

“Standard search procedure. TIEs and speeder bike, they start in the south western corner and move in an east-west search grid, slowly going north. The mountains might disturb the TIEs' instruments, but they ground troops will spot us.”

“No time to run for it.”

“Not in this terrain.”

“Let's head along the river, see if we can find a place.”

The steepness of the craggy cliffs along the river forced them to climb more than walk, but still Finn knew that the physical exertion wasn't the reason for his rapidly racing heart. Every time the sound of the engines came back, it was just that much closer.

“Think we can make it across the river?” Poe asked suddenly.

“Why?”

The pilot pointed to a narrow crack in the cliff wall on the other side. It barely looked wide enough to squeeze into, but it was the only place they'd spotted that could be used for hiding in.

“It might not be the most comfortable hiding place, but I think that unless they look right into it we'll be out of sight.”

There wasn't time to be fancy in crossing, or make any attempt to not getting soaked. Holding on to each other for support against the current, they waded across the waist deep waters and scaled the cliff to the crack, their soaked clothes sticking to their skin.

It proved to be a slightly more comfortable hiding place than Finn had thought it would be.

While the entrance was a narrow fit for both of them, the crevice widened and lowered just inside, making enough room that they could lie side by side. It would be a close fit, but would keep them well hidden from view. A thick layer of dry leaves that had collected inside made for a somewhat comfortable mattress and their physical closeness made it easier for them to keep warm despite their wet clothes.

It took some shifting about, but they managed to fit themselves together, Poe's head tucked against Finn's chest and their arms wrapped around one another. Now all they could do was wait and hope they weren't found.

Finn tried to calm his racing heart and think of something, anything, else than their present situation, but the constantly nearing sound of the impulse engines of the TIEs mixed with the now audible sound of speeder bikes made it impossible to forget the approaching danger.

He swallowed and tried to will his fear away. It wouldn't help him now when he could neither run nor fight. The terror would only drain him later once the adrenalin wore off and he'd need all the strength he had later if they were to escape.

He could feel Poe's body trembling softly against his. It might have been merely from cold, Finn wasn't feeling too warm in his drenched clothes, but his irregular breathing and the tension in the pilot's shoulder and neck indicated that it probably wasn't cold alone that made Poe shake.

Finn didn't dare speak, he knew better than any how good Stormtrooper helmets were at picking up sounds from a distance and he didn't want an errant sound to alert the Bike Troopers to their presence. Instead he slowly raised hand, cupped the back of Poe's head and let his fingers caress the pilot's hair.

Finn felt Poe gently tighten his arms around his waist in response. It made him feel a little better.

_It was alright, it would be alright._

Finn closed his eyes, focused on Poe's warm body near his own and did his best to shut out the ever approaching engine sounds.

An odd calm stole over him, leaving him with a strange sense of... clarity, of detachment from the world and it made him feel oddly warm despite his wet clothes. However, when the sound of a speeder bike came from almost right outside the gap, he still felt the naked claws of fear run down his back.

 _No one's in here,_ he thought as if trying to swear away the threat outside. _They can't be, it's too damn narrow for anyone to hide there. No one would hide this close to the crash site anyway, it's all a waste of time._

The sound of the speeder bike remained, but came no closer. Finn could hear the soft clicks of a comlink being used, then the sound of the bike faded again and he slowly let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Poe still lay tense in his arms and Finn dared to drop a kiss on the top of his head.

They remained still until the sound of the engines had faded completely, then Poe shifted in his arms and looked up at him.

“Think they're gone?” he whispered.

“Probably. Wouldn't hurt to give them another twenty minutes to make sure though. Uncomfortable?”

Finn too kept his voice low, just in case.

“I've been worse. Been better too though.”

The attempt at levity from Poe sounded slight strained in Finn's ears and he tightened his grip. Poe leaned his head in against Finn’s chest with a sigh, but the young man could feel no easing of his tension.

They lay in silence for a while, but in the end Finn had had enough. He had no idea if it had been twenty minutes, probably not, but he couldn't lie there and just wait any longer.

“Come on.” He tapped Poe on the shoulder.

It took a bit of manoeuvring to get upright and out of the gap. Outside the sun was lowering in the sky, though it was still a way above the trees.

“We should find a place to camp,” Finn said.

“Shouldn't we get as far from here as possible?”

Poe's voice was tense as he spoke. Finn saw he was looking back in the direction of the wreck and though his back was turned the young man noticed that his was clutching something that lay beneath his shirt.

Finn had noticed the leather cord around Poe's neck in one of their make out sessions, but he hadn't asked what it was as he had been a little... distracted. And later it just didn't seem to matter even though Poe always seemed to wear... whatever it was. Besides, if they kept up the way they were going, he would find out at some point anyway.

“Finn?”

Poe was looking back at him over his shoulder. Realising that he had been staring, Finn jerked his gaze away.

“We should start walking yes, but the nearest city is at least a day's walk from here; probably more in this terrain. We have what, 3-4 hours of daylight left, we'll definitely be spending one night in the open.”

The pilot let out a long, slow breath.

“You're right. At least you packed for the both of us.” Poe patted the shoulder bag he carried as he started walking.

“Jakku was an experience I do _not_ care to repeat.”

Poe nodded with a wry smile.

“One of those in a lifetime is more than enough. Maybe the Resistance should make these standard equipment.”

“You mean for whenever fighters make spectacular crashes and need to run?”

“Yes.”

“Does it ever happen to anyone but us?”

“Ask Karé about Bilel when we get back.”

Finn found his interest piqued and he looked quizzically at Poe.

“No, she should tell it herself. She does it much better than me.”

Finn let it drop.

They walked together in silence, though every so often Poe would reach out and touch Finn as if to assure himself that the other man was really there. After the fifth time Finn simply took his hand. He looked over at Poe, but the pilot seemed lost in a world of his own.

 

By the time the sun was skirting the treetops Finn was about to give up on finding a good camping spot and was willing to settle for any clearing that wasn't too rocky. It would be dark soon and the thought of stumbling about in the darkened forest was less than appealing.

“Next clearing we see, I say we settle down no matter how it looks.”

“Hmm,” was all the answer Poe gave. The pilot had come out of his reverie, but hadn't been very talkative.

Moving around a large section of thick undergrowth brought them close to the river again and straight the best camping ground Finn had seen all day, a grass covered hollow that gently inclined all the way down to the river.

He looked at Poe.

“What do you say?”

The pilot seemed to shake himself out of his mood and looked about.

“Damn near perfect. Pack up those leaves from under the trees and we'll even have a decent bed.”

Finn frowned in confusion.

“Never slept on the ground have you?”

“Nah. Camping trips weren't part of First Order training regimen.”

Poe snorted.

“Rule one, don't sleep on the naked ground if you can avoid it. You only ever try that once and you're cured.”

“Have you?”

“Once and never again,” Poe laughed.

“Well, as you're the expert, you're making the bed. I'll see if I can find some wood that isn't soaked.”

He tossed Poe his bag and headed off.

When he returned Poe had made up a bed of their two blankets and a large pile of leaves. In front he had made a space for the fire.

Finn dropped the the firewood by the bed and started building a bonfire, first putting the tinder and kindling in the cleared space, then breaking off the branches he'd gathered in pieces of approximately the same length before putting them up two against two, in a tepee like structure.

Feeling Poe's eyes on him he looked up.

“For someone who's never camped, that's impressive.”

“Beginners luck. First attempt, I looked up the theory, but I hadn't had the chance to try it yet.”

Finn grabbed his bag and pulled out a lighter.

“Let's see if I got it right.”

A few moments later a lively fire illuminated the rapidly descending dusk.

Poe was lying on the bed, leaning back against a tree, slowly chewing on a ration bar. Finn grabbed one of his own and snuggled up against the pilot. Poe put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

The ration bar wasn't exciting, but Stromtrooper training had drilled into him to eat when there was food.

The fire was warm and so was Poe. Between that, the day's tension and the long walk Finn quickly got sleepy and he rested his head on Poe's shoulder, yawning.

“I can't believe it took crashing again for us to finally spend the night together,” he muttered.

“What do you mean?” Poe asked quietly.

Finn straightened and turned to face him.

“We've been together for nearly four weeks now.”

“Seventeen days.”*

“You counted?” Finn asked puzzled.

“Every single one, cariño.”

Finn felt heat creep up his neck. That... was a surprisingly nice thought, and it made a smile spread over his face. Poe smiled in return and bent his head so their foreheads touched.

“And I treasure them all,” he murmured.

Finn laughed. He hadn't meant to, but the absurdity of the situation struck him and he couldn't help himself.

“What?” Poe asked, looking bemused as he pulled back to study Finn.

“Just... us here, in the middle of nowhere, the First Order possibly on our heels, getting romantic. It's...”

He laughed again and this time Poe joined him.

“ _And_ ,” Finn continued once they had both stopped. “It's still the first night we’re actually spending together. You always send me away. Or leave.”

The laughter was gone from his face and from his voice. He hadn't meant for his tone to sound so hurt. He hadn't really realised until he said it out loud how much it _did_ hurt.

Poe ran his fingers over Finn's hair.

“You haven't asked to stay. You're not really quiet about what you wanted otherwise.”

Alright, that _was_ fair.

“Okay, but I am asking. Now. If we can sleep together. When we get back to base that is. Tonight is pretty much a given.”

“Sleep as in sleep, or sleep as in sex?”

“Both, either. I want to just share a bed with you, but yeah I want sex too. At some point. I mean, slow is fine. I like that. But...”

“But?”

“So far all we've done is kiss and make out. I know this isn't something I have that much experience with but... it doesn't so much feel slow as... glacial.”

Poe nodded.

“I don't want to push, but I'll try to remember not to be too cautious either, cariño. As for your question. Sleep as in sleeping? Any time you like to. Your room or mine, as you wish. As for sex? Not until we talk about it first.”

Finn pushed away and sat fully upright, looking straight at Poe.

“You said you wouldn't be over cautious.”

Poe straightened up as well and took one of Finn's hands in his, holding his gaze.

“I'm not. If you think this is special treatment you're wrong.”

“So you interrogate all your lovers then?”

“I've had _conversations_ with all of them. About what we like, what we don't like, anything special precautions that need to be made.”

Poe chuckled. His face was painted orange and red from the fire, his features softened by the gentle light, making him seem younger than he was.

“It might feel awkward. But fumbling about and trying to guess is much worse.”

“Sounds like there's a story in that one.”

“Yes, a _very_ awkward and fumbling first time. We were both seventeen and neither of us had the sense a nerf was born with, certainly not enough to talk first.”

“Awful?”

“No. Just _very_ embarrassing. It taught me a valuable lesson though.”

“About talking first.”

“Yes.”

Finn nodded, shifting slightly.

“I did not mean now,” Poe said softly.

“But soon?”

The pilot gave Finn's hand a squeeze.

“When you're ready.”

Finn exhaled loudly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“It's not that anything awful happened, I just-”

He had no idea how to continue that sentence.

“Finn, when you're _ready_. When _we_ are ready. I know a little over three weeks feels like forever when you're twenty-three, but it's not. I rarely leap into sex that quickly. And I'll tell you something else.”

He tugged at Finn's arm, pulling him closer until they were facing each other, then leaned in for a kiss, cupping Finn's head with his hand.

“I love to make out,” he whispered against Finn's lips before kissing him. As all Poe's kisses it was lingering and soft, and it made Finn feel warm all over.

The feeling of desire and arousal wasn't a new thing to Finn, but it wasn't that kind of heat, not alone at least. Kissing Poe wasn't just heat in his belly and a rapidly beating heart. These kisses made him feel warm all the way out in his toes and fingers, they made his skin feel too hot and tight in a way that should have been unpleasant but that he always wanted more of.

Finn pulled back, panting.

“Not- not the best time or place for this, is it?”

Poe sat back as well, breathing as hard as Finn.

“I'm sorry. I wanted you to know that I am not unhappy with what we are doing. But you're right, we'd better stop for tonight.”

Finn took a deep, steadying breath.

“We'd better put out the fire and go to sleep.”

“Yes, long walk tomorrow.”

Finn pushed the small pile of earth lying next to the fireplace over the smoldering branches, smothering the flames.

Without the light from the fire, the night was nearly pitch black and the darkness surrounding them was filled with the noises of nighttime creatures. Used as he was to life in barracks with a multitude of other people around him, the muted bustle of creatures in the dark felt more comforting than threatening to Finn, and as he climbed into bed and curled up behind Poe he felt oddly at home here under the open sky.

He kissed the back of Poe's neck.

“Goodnight, Hotshot.”

“Goodnight, Big Deal.”

Finn snorted.

“Rey told you about that, didn't she?”

“No. That was Solo.”

Finn fell silent, not sure how to respond. After a moment Poe spoke again.

“You are you know. A big deal.”

Finn didn't know what to say to that. He never did know how to respond to praise he didn't think he deserved, and with the memories of Solo so near he felt further confused. Instead he kissed Poe's neck again.

“Sleep now,” he muttered.

Finn pushed the memories away. Poe was warm in his arms and the bedding softer than he expected it to be. It wasn't the first night together he'd thought they'd have, but it wasn't a bad one either. All things considered.

**Author's Note:**

> *A galactic standard week in the Star Wars universe is five days and I decided to go with that.
> 
>  
> 
> Oh look, a [tumblr](https://luminousfinn.tumblr.com)


End file.
